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CBIA members: Click here to sign up for our free HR and/or our Safety & Heath electronic newsletters. |
Find the Connecticut-specific information you need to comply with employment laws and regulations, and effectively manage your company's most valuable asset — its people! Web-only features
Federal minimum wage posterThe revised 5-in-1 poster reflecting the new federal minimum wage is now available. To order, contact Lise Cliche at clichel@cbia.com or 860 244 1977. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 calls for a three step increase over the next three years, with the first increase to $5.85. It is the first raise in the federal minimum wage since 1997.
IRS hikes mileage rateThe Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has approved an eight-cent increase in the optional standard mileage rate for work-related automotive travel, effective July 1. The new rate for the use of a car, including vans, pickups and panel trucks, is 58.5 cents per business mile, up from 50.5 cents for the first six months of 2008. The mileage rate is normally updated once a year in the fall for the next calendar year. The IRS says this special mid-year adjustment is in recognition of recent gasoline price increases. The agency also noted that the rate for the use of a car for medical or moving purposes will be 27 cents per mile, and the rate per mile driven in service to a charitable organization will be 14 cents.
HR pros: Mets struck outWhile there may have been reason to fire Mets manager Willie Randolph, human resource experts say team officials struck out when it came to how the dismissal was handled. The Mets "whiffed" by:
The dismissal showed poor communication and poor judgment, said one HR executive. Management didn’t think about perception, and now the team is facing serious damage control.
House approves bill to amend ADABy a vote of 402-17, the U.S. house of Representatives has approved a bill (H.R. 3195) that would amend the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and override several U.S. Supreme Court interpretations of the federal disability bias law. The bill modifies the definition of the term “substantially limits” to mean “materially limits,” stating that the new definition is meant to depart “from the strict standard” that has been applied by the courts. It also provides that any “ameliorative effects” of “mitigating measures” like medications may not be considered when determining whether an individual has a disability. Employer groups as well as civil rights and disabilities groups support the legislation. The bill next moves to the Senate for consideration. The Bush Administration has expressed support for “legislation that improves the ADA” but says it has “significant concerns” about some of the bill’s provisions. Survey shows increased job satisfactionMore than four out of 10 employees say they are very satisfied with their jobs, according to an annual job satisfaction survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Eight out of 10 employees report overall satisfaction. The percentage of very satisfied employees rose from 38% in 2007 to 41% this year. The figure has remained relatively constant since SHRM first conducted its annual survey in 2002, with 30% responding very satisfied. The overall satisfaction score — 83% this year — was 79% last year, and 77% in 2002. In this year’s survey, female employees reported higher levels of satisfaction than male employees, as did employees aged 56 and older compared with those 35 and younger. The most important aspects of job satisfaction, as reported by 50% or more of employees, were job security, benefits, compensation, feeling safe in the work environment, communication between employees and senior management, and opportunities to use skills and abilities. These results were similar to last year’s findings. One significant difference in this year’s findings was the decrease in the importance of “work/life balance,” as it reached its lowest average level in the history of the survey. Forty four percent of employees reported that work/life balance is a very important aspect of job satisfaction, compared with 62% in 2002.
DOL releases annual “time use” dataThe U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that employed persons worked an average of 7.6 hours per day in 2007, working longer on weekdays than on weekends — 7.9 versus 5.6 hours. On the days that they worked, employed men worked about three-quarters of an hour more than employed women. This difference partly reflects women’s greater likelihood of working part-time, says BLS. However, even among full-time workers (those usually working 35 hours or more per week), men worked slightly longer than women — 8.2 versus 7.8 hours. Other BLS findings:
CBIA’s 2007 – 2008 Compensation ReportCompensation rates are key to attracting and retaining top performers. Find out if your company’s pay practices are in line with what other similar Connecticut businesses are paying. This new report includes data on more than 150 positions from small, midsize and large employers and across various industries. In addition, for the first time CBIA has partnered with Adecco, a leader in human resources solutions, to include their salary survey data as well. For more information or to order a copy of the report, go to http://www.cbia.com/hr/Publications/20072008compensationreport.htm.
CBIA’s On-Site Training:
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© 2003 Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA). All rights reserved. The articles, forms and other materials available through this Web site are for informational purposes only. They are not intended as legal advice or as a solution to an individual problem. You are encouraged to consult with appropriate legal counsel prior to relying on the materials in whole or in part.
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